rewiring INSIDE of speakers ?

[just-some-guy]

i had the terminal off of one of my mains, yesterday. i noticed the wire was pretty darn thin. should i bother replacing this thin wire with something better ?

thanx

 

[R-Carpenter]

If you have too much free time or if the original wiring is badly tarnished and falling apart. Generally it's useless.

 

[CraigV]

This question has been around for years – “Why should I buy this expensive thick speaker wire to go between my amp & speaker terminal if the wire from the crossover to the driver is so thin & cheap!?”

Best advice – if it aint broke, don’t fix it. If the speakers are performing the way they’re supposed to, you could do more harm than good by de-soldering & re-soldering, not to mention space in the PC board is meant for smaller gage wire.

 

[just-some-guy]

ok. i know the speaker designers know alot more than i do. but it still seems odd that the wire would be so thin. thanx, guys.

 

[Adam]

Wire resistance is a function of the cross-sectional area and the length. Thicker speaker wire is recommended for longer lengths for that reason. Similarly, thinner wires can be used for very short lengths like those inside of your speaker (or inside of a receiver or amp) without having a significant effect.

 

[mtrycrafts]

ok. i know the speaker designers know alot more than i do. but it still seems odd that the wire would be so thin. thanx, guys.

If you are going to lose sleep over this, change it

 

[just-some-guy]

Adam. makes sence.

no, i'm not loosing sleep over it. just trying to learn.

btw. what gauge will is recomended for the rear speakers at about 30'ish ? thanx

 

[Adam]

btw. what gauge will is recomended for the rear speakers at about 30'ish ? thanx

My favorite site for that info is linked here. It has a nice table with recommended wire gauges based on wire length and speaker impedance - plus some good explanation. You might be surprised at the sizes. A lot of people use wires that are larger than they need - I'm one of them (but they sure do look cool!).

 

[Pyrrho]

i had the terminal off of one of my mains, yesterday. i noticed the wire was pretty darn thin. should i bother replacing this thin wire with something better ?

thanx

No.

You have, unfortunately, been exposed to too much marketing BS about wires. Because this matters, I will give you a link that I see someone else has already given you. It does not matter whether you get to it from Adam's link or mine, but be sure and read the web page at the other end of the link:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

People waste far too much money on useless crap.

 

[oldhifiguy]

finally a non-insane explanation of speaker wire. But there will always be those who for whatever reason believe all the mktng hype about Marvelous speaker wire at $100/Ft. Iv always used #18 wire and it's served me well for many yrs.
Many thanks for the link.

 

[emorphien]

A lot of people use wires that are larger than they need - I'm one of them (but they sure do look cool!).

Nothing wrong with that! If you can get cool looking wires that don't cost a ton and you want to, go for it.

Everyone is right though, people get heavier gauge wires than needed most of the time and the short runs inside your speaker should allow much smaller gauge wires. Hopefully the speaker manufacturer has chosen a gauge appropriate for the lengths and amount of power the speaker handles.

 

[Pyrrho]

finally a non-insane explanation of speaker wire. But there will always be those who for whatever reason believe all the mktng hype about Marvelous speaker wire at $100/Ft. Iv always used #18 wire and it's served me well for many yrs.
Many thanks for the link.

There are all sorts of psychological reasons for it. But when one mentions such things, people often become extremely offended. It is curious that people get offended by being told that they are people and have human limitations on their abilities. Everyone seems to want to be told that he or she is superman instead.

 

[lsiberian]

My favorite site for that info is linked here. It has a nice table with recommended wire gauges based on wire length and speaker impedance - plus some good explanation. You might be surprised at the sizes. A lot of people use wires that are larger than they need - I'm one of them (but they sure do look cool!).

No.

You have, unfortunately, been exposed to too much marketing BS about wires. Because this matters, I will give you a link that I see someone else has already given you. It does not matter whether you get to it from Adam's link or mine, but be sure and read the web page at the other end of the link:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

People waste far too much money on useless crap.

Adam I think imitation is the finest form of flattery.

Add my third to this site being recommended.

Go to this site http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm Seriously its a well written article read the whole thing.

 

[tbergman]

Ok, so I followed this chart and stepped up to 16ga wire when I set up my speakers over the 18ga I probably could have used. But here is my question, I usually see that Audioholics reviews are using something near 10ga wire every time! Is this just so they never exceed their wire capacity or just to satisfy people that are obsessed with huge wires. I'm sure there is a huge difference between the math for AC and DC but just the fact that I have some common knowledge and worked as an electrician for a year and the biggest wire I usually ran was 12ga, unless it was a stove, ac unit, dryer, etc... why does a speaker 10 feet away from a receiver need such a big wire?

 

[annunaki]

Three main things affect wire gauge choice. Anticipated power level, distance, and resistance.

I would not attempt running 18 ga. with a Behringer EP2500 (2100 watts rms mono) to my W7 (3.6 ohm DCR) though the distance is only 5 feet. I will keep my 10 ga. cable thank you.

 

[tbergman]

Three main things affect wire gauge choice. Anticipated power level, distance, and resistance.

I would not attempt running 18 ga. with a Behringer EP2500 (2100 watts rms mono) to my W7 (3.6 ohm DCR) though the distance is only 5 feet. I will keep my 10 ga. cable thank you.

Fair enough, 2100 watts is a lot more than my system will be seeing for years...

 

[highfigh]

Three main things affect wire gauge choice. Anticipated power level, distance, and resistance.

I would not attempt running 18 ga. with a Behringer EP2500 (2100 watts rms mono) to my W7 (3.6 ohm DCR) though the distance is only 5 feet. I will keep my 10 ga. cable thank you.

What's the matter Beave, chicken?

 

[lsiberian]

Three main things affect wire gauge choice. Anticipated power level, distance, and resistance.

I would not attempt running 18 ga. with a Behringer EP2500 (2100 watts rms mono) to my W7 (3.6 ohm DCR) though the distance is only 5 feet. I will keep my 10 ga. cable thank you.

I dare you to give it a try. You might be surprised.

I'm not sure the effect wattage has on the wire. would have to dust off my Physics 2 book. Been too long. I hated that class.

 

[lsiberian]

i had the terminal off of one of my mains, yesterday. i noticed the wire was pretty darn thin. should i bother replacing this thin wire with something better ?

thanx

If you want to improve your speakers. I suggest putting some additional bracing inside the cabinet. also upgrading the damping material can help too.

 

[annunaki]

I dare you to give it a try. You might be surprised.

I'm not sure the effect wattage has on the wire. would have to dust off my Physics 2 book. Been too long. I hated that class.

2100 watts into 3.6 ohms is 24 amperes of current. 18 ga wire is not suitable.

I admit, this is not a normal situation, but it highlights the point I am trying to make.

This part of the equation always seems to get ignored when these topics come up. I agree large wire is not always needed. However, the power applied through the wire does affect what happens. Too small of wire for the power application can have negative affects.